15 June 2023

Foot bath design and use to help with lameness

There are higher incidences of lameness after the spring due to the bad weather, with roadways and paddock access in unsatisfactory conditions. Foot baths can help with lameness issues.

When using foot baths, it is important that they are correctly designed and used for optimum efficiency.

Foot baths should be no longer than 3m, as a bath longer than this can be contaminated by the cows as they walk through. Pre-wash baths are no longer recommended for the same reason, as the cows tend to soil the bath’s solution as they walk through. Too short a bath is not suitable as the cows may not drop all their feet in the solution or some feet may only drop in the solution once.

On many farms, foot baths are in use, but do not get optimum results. The main reasons for this can be that the bath is poorly designed or the solution used is not appropriate. The rule of thumb is to have 1L of solution for each cow that passes. So a 200L-foot bath will allow 200 cows through it before it has to be refreshed. Additional passes of the cows above this may actually help spread infectious disease, as the solution is no longer effective and the foot bath may be soiled from the previous cows that passed through.

For most farmers, this would mean refreshing the solution between each milking. Although some farms with larger herds may have to wash out and refresh the solution during milking. Each foot bath requires 1L of solution per cow. The depth of the solution in the bath should be between 10 and 15cm. To calculate the size of your foot bath, you multiply length x width x depth in centimetres and divide by 1,000 to convert to litres. The floor of the foot bath should be level with the exit ramp to improve cow flow through the foot bath.

Some farmers are now using automatic foot baths. These are programmable for different chemical rates and can count the number of cows that pass through them. They can automatically empty, wash out, and refill with solution when the pre-set number of cows pass through. They normally have two options for different chemicals that can be added and are safer for the operator if dangerous chemicals such as formalin are being used on the farm. To install an automatic foot bath, the farmer will be required to have a power supply, air supply, and water from a wash down hose close to where the foot bath will be installed.

Read the full Teagasc Dairy Newsletter